Unlike the majority of regulars here (at least I sort of gleaned this from the comments on the various films I've seen listed here), I did not see too many of these classics as a child, but am coming at them now with the perspective of a thirty-year-old who still feels as on fire with zeal and wonder as he did in his b-deprived youth. Anyway, I just saw this one a couple of months back and am glad to see it's reviewed here! Andrew, your review cracked me up, and I agree with what I perceive as the sort of unspoken sentiment that you and some of the other commenters here have that this movie is a little full of itself and probably doesn't have as much to say as its creators think it does...nevertheless, I have to say I love this movie! I go in for this type of flick because of the moodiness factor, really, and I think this one has it in spades...atmosphere, a certain eerieness or whatever that you could often find in the more "serious" 70s science fiction movies. It reminded me of Andromeda Strain a bit but it's a lot less boring, a lot more otherworldly. I think the ant scenes are amazing and theyr'e really aided by the creepy electronic score. The horse-killing scene was unexpectedly intense and I don't know if it was just me, but I normally kind of dislike child actors and yet I thought the girl in this one was really well acted. I'm not sure if I entirely approve of the ending but there's a certain cleverness to it...did anyone else notice that the title cards in the film show phases "I", "II" and "III" but the fourth phase is yet to come? I thought that was pretty neat.